Angle measuring interferometer

Details Angle measuring interferometer Angle measuring interferometer

1986-03-28

1988-01-05

Willis, Davis L.

Optics: measuring and testing

By particle light scattering

With photocell detection

356351, 356363, G01B 902

Patent

active

047172509

ABSTRACT:
An angle measuring interferometer comprises a source (10) which emits a light beam containing two orthogonally polarized components of different frequencies; a source of a stabilized electrical reference signal (11) of a frequency corresponding to a difference frequency between the two components of the light beam; means, such as a tilted shear plate (16) or a beamsplitter/beam folder assembly (116, 116A) for converting the input beam into two separated, parallel, orthogonally polarized beams; a half-wave retardation plate (29A, 29) located in one of the separated beams for converting the two separated parallel orthogonally polarized beams into two separated parallel beams with the same polarization and frequency difference; means including a polarizing beamsplitter (44), for causing each of the separated different frequency parallel beams with the same polarization to be reflected once by each of two plane mirrors (71, 70) to produce two parallel output beams with the same polarization; a half-wave retardation plate (29B, 29) located in one of the separated parallel output beams, for converting the two separated parallel output beams of the same polarization into two separated parallel output beams with orthogonal polarization, with means, such as the tilted shear plate (16) or the beamsplitter/beam folder assembly (116, 116B), converting the two separated parallel orthogonally polarized output beams into a single output beam in which the phase difference, ".delta.", between the two frequency components of the single output beam is directly proportional to the angle, ".theta.", between the two plane mirrors (70, 71); a polarizer (81) for mixing the orthogonal components of the output beam; a photoelectric detector (83) to produce the measurement signal; and a phase/meter accumulator (90) to indicate the phase difference, ".DELTA..delta.", between the reference and measurement signals which is directly proportional to the changes in the angular orientation, ".DELTA..theta.", between the two plane mirrors (70, 71).

REFERENCES:
patent: 3656853 (1972-04-01), Bagley et al.
patent: 3788746 (1974-01-01), Baldwin et al.
patent: 3790284 (1974-02-01), Baldwin
Bennett, "A Double-Passed Michelson Interferometer", Optics Communications, vol. 4, No. 6, pp. 428-430, 3/72.

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